B allads reflects the need for continued literary, musical, sociological, historical, and cultural research in the field of our vast heritage of ballads and songs A nd reaffirms the principle of openness of the Kommission für Volksdichtung by inventing contributions from anyone interested in ballads and songs while at the same time aiming at new standards of originality and excellende S ongs provides a platform for the discussion of ballads and songs in an international context and emphasizes the importance of cultural diversity and international co-operation I nternational recognizes the need for linguistic diversity by accepting contributions in German, French, and English in order to produce a series of publications that provides a BASIS for future research by the internationl community of ballad and song scholars S tudies